


Young

by asexualjuliet



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Character Study, Gaang as family, Gen, POV Second Person, i am thinking about him...... zuko avatar the last airbender, zuko reflects
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:21:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26032594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asexualjuliet/pseuds/asexualjuliet
Summary: You wake to the faint pitter-patter of rain on the roof of the tent and slowly start to take in your surroundings.Sokka’s head rests against yours, his arms holding Suki to his chest. Katara faces away from you, but her back is pressed up against yours, and you know she feels safe sleeping next to you. Toph lays her feet on your stomach—her personal way of “closing her eyes.” Aang is curled up into a little ball, head on your chest, and he looks so young in sleep that you’re taken aback for a moment.Or, Zuko realizes that they’re all just kids fighting this war.
Relationships: The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar), minor Sokka/Suki - Relationship
Comments: 4
Kudos: 58





	Young

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this because it was raining a few weeks ago and I thought hnnnngbn....... rain......  
> This was gonna be just, like, soft children sleeping in a pile in a tent safe from the rain and Zuko being happy he has friends, but it got away from me less than three paragraphs in.
> 
> The working title for this was “jdjd. dudjucbd s dh.” Thank you my friend Mary for beta-ing!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

You wake to the faint pitter-patter of rain on the roof of the tent and slowly start to take in your surroundings. 

Sokka’s head rests against yours, his arms holding Suki to his chest. Katara faces away from you, but her back is pressed up against yours, and you know she feels safe sleeping next to you. Toph lays her feet on your stomach—her personal way of “closing her eyes.” Aang is curled up into a little ball, head on your chest, and he looks so young in sleep that you’re taken aback for a moment. 

God, they _all_ look young, don’t they? And they are, Toph and Aang so much so that their cheeks are still round with baby fat. They _are_ young. 

It strikes you that you’re the oldest of them all—you vaguely remember Sokka mentioning his fifteenth birthday a few weeks back, and you’re sure Suki can’t be too much older than him. 

You’re the oldest of them all, and you chased these children across the world without a second thought. Every one of them has suffered because of you. 

You’re older. You should have been protecting them. That’s your _job._ Adults shouldn’t pick on children, you tell yourself, but then you remember that you’re just a kid. 

Just a _kid,_ burned half to death and left chasing a ghost across the world. Just a kid, who would have been struck by lightning two weeks ago if he hadn’t grown up enough to learn how to save himself. 

You’re just a kid. 

You’re all just kids. 

You look at them all. Toph, seemingly unaware of the concept of personal space. Katara, all too aware. Sokka and Suki, each so entangled in each other’s arms it’s like they need each other more than they need to breathe. Aang. 

Aang, who’s just twelve, but bears the markings of a seasoned master and warrior—ragged scars on his back and foot, blue arrows running down his body. Aang, who's at the center of all of this. Aang, who’s got the wisdom of all one hundred and twelve of his years but the personality of just the twelve he’s really lived. Aang, who is going to win this war. 

He’s going to win. He has to win, you tell yourself, because that thought is the only thing keeping you going. 

You’re going to win, but you shouldn’t _have_ to. You’re kids. You’re all just kids. 

Kids should be starry-eyed and curious, with a mother and father to protect them. Looking around at _these_ kids, you realize that none of them has that anymore. 

They were brought into the world innocent and joyful, but that naivete, that pure elation of youth could never survive the genocide of your culture, the death of your mother, two cold and distant parents, the burning of your village. The burning of your _face._

That starry-eyed innocence left all of you a long time ago. You are children of war. You never got a chance to just be _kids,_ to play and laugh and smile. You can’t remember what it’s like to live without the weight of the world on your shoulders. 

You sigh. Look down at Aang, more peaceful in sleep than you’ve ever seen him awake. Toph, looking younger than you’ve ever seen her, the anger of consciousness stripped away. Katara, curled up into herself but not shying away from you or anyone else. Sokka, holding Suki to his chest, both of them looking like the lovesick kids they should be. You close your eyes and listen to the rain outside. You put an arm around Aang and drift back to sleep. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> All mistakes are my own, please let me know if you see any!
> 
> Kudos/Comments are greatly appreciated!


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